The Tori Amos Remix Album Rumors & Details On Some Of The Remixes Created

Updated May 31, 2000

The Tori Amos Remix Album That Was Not Meant To Be

A Tori remix album was considered around 1996/1997 but eventually scrapped by Atlantic Records for reasons I am unaware of. It was to be an album of remixes by various producers, and would not have been a project that Tori herself was directly involved in.

Anyway, the main factor that made a remix album possible was the success Tori's remixes had in the dance arena in the US and in the mainstream chart in the UK in 1996/1997. Professional Widow (Armand van Helden's Mix) was a worldwide smash. It hit #1 in the UK on the singles chart, and #1 in the States on the Club Play chart in Billboard. Other remixes have done well too, with In The Springtime Of His Voodoo making it to #6 on the US club play chart and Blue Skies, her callaboration with BT, making it to #1 on that same dance chart.

Producer Gavo, who remixed the song Horses and sold it to Atlantic, wrote an email to the web master of the Tori site It's Got To Be Big (the site is now gone), telling him that Atlantic cancelled their plans for a remix album. Gavo's Horses remix could still appear on a single sometime in the future however. Gavo encourages all Toriphiles to email Atlantic and ask that the remix be made available in some form.

Below you will find some of the news I received throughout 1996/1997 about a possible Tori Amos remix album and the remixes that might have appeared on it. While the album is no longer likely, it is interesting to see what remixes are out there that might show up somewhere in the future.

Received this rumor/news from Robbie Heacock in early July 1997:

I heard from a DJ friend of mine that Professional Widow was going to be rereleased in the summer of 1997 with a push towards the Mr. Roy remixes (which
are more like remixes of Armand Van Helden's remixes) of Professional
Widow... OH, he said, that the release was only gonna be on vinyl. My wish is that this release is to hype up the upcoming remix album (yeah right, like it's ever gonna happen!?). Well just thought you might wanna know. [Note from Mikewhy: These remixes were never released as far as I know.]

There is a remix to Putting The Damage On called The Twilight Mix (This version was remixed by by Mark Hawley and Marcel Van Limbeek, with the additional drums arranged by BT), which does appear on a RAINN promotional CD.

There are many other remixes floating around that have not been officially released yet. There is a fantastic remix of Horses called Gavo's Houseback Mix, which remixer/producer Gavo had on his older web site in its entirety before the record company asked him (or the person who maintains the site) to remove it. Gavo explains it like this in an email he sent to Toriphile Ray Jalian in 1997:

"The remix was bought from me late last year by Atlantic; apparently for
release on a remix album..."

Gavo also says in an email to Scott Robson in 1997 about the Horses remix:

There are copies of it floating around, test pressings I gave to Toronto DJs before Atlantic picked it up for the remix album. I did an interview for an online magazine outlining all of my work, complete with RealAudio samples. In fact I've been getting mail from quite a few people--even snail mail from Australia--asking for information on the Tori Amos remix album or advance copies of my remix of 'Horses'...since the label now owns the mix they have the sole right for its distribution and I would have to refer you to Johnny D at Atlantic New York, who's responsible for compiling and releasing the mixes....

Why 'Horses'? Cause it had a profound emotional effect on me (until 'Boys For Pele' I didn't understand what all the fuss was about regarding Tori; then it all made sense) and because my house grooves have always reminded me of a horse galloping. I wanted to marry the two: concept and groove.

May 31, 2000 UPDATE: Gavo recently opened his Official web site at www.gavostyle.com. If you go there and click on the 1996 button, you will see his "Gavo's Houseback Mix" for "Horses" listed. (There is also reference to "Gavo's DubBack Mix" for Horses as well.) He includes a link to an MP3 sound clip that contains over 2 minutes of the remix that you can download. Check his site out!

ventrue/russ emailed me with additional info on remixer Sylk Screen. "Sylk Screen, responsible for the Father Lucifer Remix, has also worked with Paula Cole on the "Where Have All The Cowboys Gone" single, and SHOULD, from what i know, have an album out THIS YEAR (1997), which is where it would SEEM the father lucifer remix would be. maybe. i think."

A Toriphile named Will Nazer emailed me with more on a possible remix album from DMA (Dance Music Authority), which discussed the remix album idea back in the September 1996 issue.